Semiconductor memory devices, including flash memory, typically utilize memory cells to store data as an electrical value, such as an electrical charge or voltage. A flash memory cell, for example, includes a single transistor with a floating gate that is used to store a charge representative of a data value. Flash memory is a non-volatile data memory device that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. More generally, non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory, as well as other types of non-volatile memory implemented using any of a variety of technologies) retains stored information even when not powered, as opposed to volatile memory, which requires power to maintain the stored information.
Conventional manufacturing workflows utilize extensive testing to produce high-quality memory devices and/or memory components (e.g., components of memory devices). This testing often represents a large portion of the cost of production. In addition, extensive testing may also place a substantial amount of wear on a memory device even before it reaches the consumer. For example, flash memory devices typically have a viable lifetime expressed as a number of program/erase (P/E) cycles that can be performed before the flash memory becomes unreliable. Certain tests performed in conventional manufacturing workflows require a significant number of P/E cycles to be performed on the flash memory, thereby reducing its remaining lifetime available to the consumer.